South Korea is known as the land of Morning Calm. This phrase likely evokes bucolic and pastoral images of the orient: misty mountains, verdant green rice fields, narrow, winding streets, and meticulously built and decorated temples hazy with incense smoke. While there is indeed calmness and tranquility to be found, in Seoul one must search for it.I chose Seoul as the focus for this project not purely because it's was home, but also because Seoul is the modern face of South Korea and that over half of the countries total population live within the metropolitan area. Seoul has double the population density of New York City.These facts make Seoul an ideal place to explore the human created environment. This body of work is a visual reaction to living in a crowded metropolis, a hectic, pulsating city that never stops and never rests.In response to this environment, I actively searched for exceptions to this rule. In my photographic investigation of Seoul I sought and subsequently found solitude, stillness and quiet. For me, Morning Calm is a state of mind.

In my photographic exploration of Seoul I was drawn to moments of calm, of solitude, and of surreal emptiness. In the face of the teeming and frenetic I sought the empty and still. Often in a city this large the residents desire for privacy and anonymity creates a feeling of loneliness and solitude. I want my imagery to express these feelings. The scenes I have chosen to capture represent not only a physical space but also a mental one. They are not only representations of physical places but of a desired or perceived reality.